Gay teens have a right to form clubs at school

On Sunday, we mark Universal Children’s Day, a day to promote the rights of young people. Here are the stories of some young people and how they have experienced their rights in Canada’s schools.

When Jamie Hubley was in Grade 7, teenagers on a school bus tried to stuff batteries down his throat because he was a figure skater. Jamie Hubley, as many Canadians sadly know, was the 15-year-old Ottawa youth who took own his life just over a month ago. From what he wrote and what’s been stated, he took this drastic and tragic measure because of depression, because he was the only openly gay student at his high school and because he had been the target of homophobic bullying at school for years. In his final blog entry he expressed his concern that life might not get better, and that he could not endure the hurt for another three years.

It is difficult to know which part of the school bus batteries story is most shocking: the fact that the aggressors were teenagers bullying a seventh-grader; the sheer viciousness of the assault; the fact that Jamie was victimized because of figure skating and because of perceptions about figure skaters and because of homophobia; or the fact that he was on a school bus at the time, presumably surrounded by students who should have known something was wrong, and at least one adult who should have been informed and able to help.

Sadly, Jamie Hubley was not alone in his suffering, nor in the tragic end he chose. According to researchers, approximately 32 per cent of lesbian, gay and bisexual youth contemplate or attempt suicide (compared to seven per cent of all youth) — not because of their sexuality, but because of the stigma, the suffering and the discrimination that they face. A recent study by Egale Canada documents the high levels of homophobic bullying, physical and verbal harassment and homo-, bi- and transphobic comments that are routinely heard in many of Canada’s schools, in some cases coming from teachers themselves.

The study’s authors, like many educators in Canada, have emphasized the need for policies and measures in our schools that are explicitly anti-homophobia, anti-biphobia and anti-transphobia. Policies that do not address these specific issues — such as general safe school or human rights policies — are not effective in improving the climate at these schools for LGBTQ students, the study found.

In addition, school student clubs that are LGBTQ-positive, such as gay-straight alliances (GSAs) or rainbow clubs, are seen by educators as pivotal in creating school communities that feel more supportive of LGBTQ students, and less homophobic. This is not difficult to understand. For LGBTQ youth, their sexual orientation or identity will be different than that of most of their peers and others around them. Unlike youth from racialized or ethnic minorities, most LGBTQ youth will continue to be in the minority even amongst family and, for some, home may not be a safe space at all.

An LGBTQ-positive school student club may be these young people’s first opportunity to experience a safe, open community in which their sexual identity or orientation does not make them different. Little wonder, then, that youth are working so hard to create such communities. Jamie Hubley tried to start a rainbow club in his school, but the posters were torn down and he was called vicious names in the hallways and online. In Ontario’s Catholic schools, there appears to be an effective ban on GSAs, rainbow clubs, or other LGBTQ-positive student initiatives. Toronto-area students Leanne Iskander and Chris McKerracher are spearheading a fight in these schools to allow such clubs, and understand that they are entitled to them not just because the clubs would be beneficial and are based on sound educational policy, but that it is also a matter of fundamental freedoms.

These youth know that like all people living in Canada, they are entitled to the rights set out in our Charter (subject to reasonable limits) — including freedom of association (the right to form groups), freedom of expression (the right to name the group and run it as a safe, LGBTQ-positive space) and the right to equality (the right to not have their club banned simply because of the students’ sexual orientation and identity).

Many of these rights and more also appear in the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Canada is a signatory, including (subject to certain general restrictions): the right to form and express views freely; freedom of thought, conscience and religion; freedom of association; the right to such educational measures as are necessary to protect young people from all forms of physical or mental maltreatment while in the care of an adult; the right to an education directed at developing each person’s personality and talents to their fullest potential, and to preparing them for responsible life in a free society in the spirit of peace and tolerance; and of course, the right of all young people to be free from and protected from discrimination.

Many school boards in Canada have created the kinds of policies recommended by educators — policies with specific anti-homophobia, anti-biphobia and anti-transphobia provisions. Many schools have implemented such measures. GSAs and rainbow clubs can be found in schools across this country. Unfortunately, however, many more schools, school boards and governments are not doing nearly enough.

Youth like Jamie Hubley are amongst the most vulnerable in Canada. We should be doing all we can to respect their rights and make certain that they are protected from discrimination and from harm.

Noa Mendelsohn Aviv is director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association’s Equality Program.